SG Americas Securities LLC Has $32.45 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 44.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,642 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $32,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ALB. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Albemarle from $230.00 to $244.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.54.

Albemarle Stock Down 4.3%

NYSE:ALB opened at $149.94 on Wednesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.60 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.04. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.97, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -47.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.